Sunday, 25 May 2014

McLaren bounce back in Monaco

(McLaren Mercedes)

The McLaren team had a great race today at the Monaco Grand Prix as both Jenson Button and Kevin Magnussen scored points for the Woking based outfit for the time since the Malaysian Grand Prix as Jenson Button who started the race from 12th place on the grid and went on to finish the race in 6th place just behind Sahara Force India's Nico Hulkenberg. Button said:

'This was a typical Monaco Grand Prix – it was messy out there; people were making mistakes; there were cars all over the place; you had to stay focused; keep up with the pack, and look after the tyres, using them when necessary.

“For the entirety of my final stint, I looked after my tyres and dropped back into the clear air behind Kevin. Then it was just about pacing myself to the end. I couldn’t quite get past Nico [Hulkenberg] at the end – he was struggling with his tyres, but whenever I pushed, I struggled as well, so I couldn’t make it stick.

“In the closing laps, we had a good little battle, but it’s so tough when you’re shoved up behind another car. It’s difficult enough as it is, but when you can’t really see anything because there’s a car in front, it’s even more difficult.

“This wasn’t a bad result for us – I just wish I could have picked off Nico at the end. It’s just a pity that Kevin’s late-race problem meant we couldn’t get more points for both cars at the finish.”

Kevin Magnussen was involved in an incident with Kimi Raikkonen, the Finn was handed a reprimand following the race. However despite the issue Magnussen finished the race in 10th place after starting the race from 8th place on the grid. The Dane is now in 9th place in the driver's championship, ten point's behind team mate Jenson Button.

Speaking after the race, the Dane said:

'Despite a lot of things going against us today – the long hold due to traffic at my pitstop, the unsafe release in front of me in the pitlane, and the engine issue – I can draw a lot from the fact that our car felt really good. That’s a real positive: it might be hard to see from the outside, but things are moving forward within the team.

“There were lots of little issues – Jean-Eric’s team probably didn’t calculate his release properly – it’s never the driver’s fault – it’s just one of those things that happens. And it was a pity I didn’t get to finish the battle with Nico [Hulkenberg]; I’d been saving my tyres in the expectation that Nico would struggle, but then I had a problem with my power-unit, which dropped me back.

“I’m still not really sure what happened with my car at the end of the race. And I didn’t see what happened with Kimi – I went to the inside to block his entry into the hairpin, but he chose to make a move anyway. It’s hard to overtake here, but he tried and it didn’t work. That’s racing.'

McLaren Racing Director Eric Boullier was left a little disappointed with the team's performance in the today's race. The Frenchman was also full of praise for the Marussia F1 Team who picked up their first ever Formula One point's.

“Sixth and 10th isn’t where we want to be, but we have to be realistic and acknowledge that this was a good performance – both from the perspective of the team, who worked brilliantly together, and also from both drivers, who drove tenaciously all weekend.

“Finishing 10th will be tough for Kevin to accept – he looked set for at least sixth place until the closing laps, when a problem with his power-unit dropped him down the order in quick succession. Fortunately, we were able to rectify the problem so he could proceed, but the incident with Kimi obviously didn’t help.

“As usual, Jenson showed all his customary flair and experience to relentlessly move up the order from 12th on the grid. He was always well positioned to benefit from the incidents and action ahead of him, and judged the second Safety Car [to recover Adrian Sutil’s damaged car] to perfection, choosing to dive into the pits at exactly the right time.

“Finally, I just want to pass on my congratulations to Jules Bianchi, John Booth, Graeme Lowdon and everybody at the Marussia team for scoring their very first world championship points today. Jules drove fantastically all weekend, and ninth place was a fantastic reward – not only for Jules’ charging drive, but also for the team’s efforts all season to improve and develop their car.

“They’re a fantastic bunch of guys, and they really deserve this today.”